Reince Priebus, Donald Trump’s chief of staff, is now facing a misconduct complaint related to his decision to interfere with the FBI’s investigation of Russia.

Attorney J. Whitfield Larrabee filed the complaint with the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation regarding Priebus’ attempt to persuade the FBI to favor Trump in their investigation of the Russian scandal that has plagued the administration.

The complaint reads:

There is probable cause to charge attorney Reince Priebus (“Priebus”) with violations of Wisconsin’s Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys, Supreme Court Rules, Chapter 20. The violations of these rules relate to Priebus’ corrupt attempt to influence investigations by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) into criminal activity involving associates of Donald J. Trump (“Trump”) and Russian government officials.

….

It is a violation of SCR 20:8.4 (b) for a lawyer to “commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.” It is a violation of SCR 20:8.4 (c) “to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.” There is probable cause to charge Priebus with such serious violations of these particular ethical requirements that it will be necessary and appropriate to revoke his license to practice of law if the charges are established.

Larrabee explained that he “filed the complaint as a concerned citizen and attorney because I was alarmed that Reince Priebus would communicate with the FBI about a pending investigation of the collusion between Trump campaign officials and senior Russian intelligence officials. Communications by Priebus with the FBI about a pending investigation of this sort severely violates the integrity of the investigation and is a blatant form of corruption.”

While it isn’t really likely that this complaint will bring about any real repercussions for Priebus, it does send a very important message: even if Republicans won’t stand up to Trump’s administration and hold them accountable, the citizens of the United States will.

Author: April HamlinApril has studied political science, psychology, and philosophy. Back in the good old days she was a reporter for “old fashioned” print newspapers. In addition to news and politics, she also blogs about service dogs and disability advocacy. As a black woman with a disability, she is fed up with the right-wingers who would prefer that she and others like her didn’t exist.